Will's Peril and Gilan's Apprentice || A Ranger's Apprentice Fall Fanfiction

Disaster.

A/N: As you'll see later on in this chapter, I try writing from someone else's POV. I've never tried that before, so feel free to tell me if I screwed it up. Thanks!
-Audrey❤️❤️❤️❤️

Third Person's POV

As Jenny, Gilan, and Maddie walked outside, they were greeted by even more good smells. The cymbal crashing was getting louder now, and they craned to see what was going on.

The head of the parade was just visible through the throng of curious onlookers. There were drummers, cymbal players, even acrobats and fire-eaters from the motley folk. Maddie felt an adrenaline rush looking at all the displays. It was fall now, so the days got shorter. It was almost dusk.

The crowd miraculously parted like the Red Sea to either side as the parade came through the cobblestone street, accompanied by a great noise. There were lots of "ooohhhhs" and "aaahhhhs" as the fire eaters and acrobats performed daring stunts and dangerous tricks.

Then, after about five minutes, everyone heard screaming come from the back of the parade, a sound that chilled Maddie's blood. It wasn't a happy scream, or a sad one. It was the scream of someone who was terrified and in pain. "Jenny, stay here. Maddie, come with me," Gilan said urgently. They headed towards the back end of the parade, concealing themselves in the shadows.

When Maddie and Gilan arrived, they found another cloaked figure already there. "Will?" Maddie whispered. All had gone silent among the townspeople, but the Rangers could heard a soft whispering of cloth. "You're already here?" Maddie asked. "I heard the screaming," Will replied.

The Rangers ghosted in and out of shadow patterns, slowly moving to behind the parade. What they saw shocked them. Around ten figures were standing in a circle around a girl. The figures were clothed only in rough flour sacks, with eyeholes cut in the sacks that were over their heads.

The girl who was standing in the circle seemed about 14 or 15, and she had a bloody scar running down the left side of her face, which looked defiant. Maddie noticed there was an inner circle of shining blood between the girl and the sack people. This must be why the girl was bleeding.

The three Rangers jumped out of the shadows, pulling out their knives. The sack people looked very surprised, but the girl didn't. Gilan dealt with four sack people since he had a sword, while Maddie and Will each took three. Within the second they were all in thumb cuffs, facedown on the ground.

Maddie turned to the girl. "Are you alright?" she asked. "Yes, I'm perfectly alright, I was just slashed in the face and prepared to be sacrificed by these weirdos!" the girl replied sadistically. Maddie caught her Magyaran accent and frowned. The girl didn't have the features of a Magyaran.

"Okay, okay. What's your name?" Maddie asked gently. "Kai," the girl said, softer this time. "By the way, I saw you coming."

"You did?!" the Rangers chorused. "Yep, but you're really good at moving silently," Kai said, pointing to Gilan. "I probably could have dealt with them on my own if there were about half as many of them." "Who are they?" Will wanted to know. "You said something about them trying to sacrifice you?" he added. "Demon-worshippers. The darkest of the dark. Total creeps, if you ask me," said Kai.

"Why did you scream?" Maddie asked. "To get your attention. I know Rangers usually patrol an event like this. Thanks for saving me," Kai traced a pale scar on her neck, a scar from years past.

Kai's POV
Two Days Later...

The rest of Harvest Day had been canceled. The farm workers, merchants, and the rest of the townspeople were eager to take their families back to their safe homes. The appearance of the demon-worshippers had shaken everyone up pretty badly. I didn't blame them.

Will and Maddie had taken me back to their cabin to determine what would happen to me. They had cleaned up the cut on my face, and the creepy sack people had been put in prison. Right then I was with Will, watching Maddie train, when I said, "Can I try training too?"

Will looked surprised, then he composed his features and said, "Go for it." Maddie was just about to start her mile run. I lined up with her at the start line, then Will shouted, "Go!" I set myself a steady pace, and Maddie did the same. I had slight breathing problems, so after a while I dropped behind.

On the last leg of the run I pulled ahead of Maddie by about a foot, and crossed the line first. Maddie glared daggers at me. "You're in wonderful shape," Will praised. "I've had to be," I replied gravely. Later on, I showed Will the weapons I used. (Maddie claimed she had to do the dishes. Again.)

I had a leather belt that had a two side scabbards (scabbards that, instead of hanging down, ran on the belt) with a thin, long, and sharp knife in each. My vest had four big pockets. In the left side pocket I had a bag that contained two sharp rocks, a small pocketknife, some personal mementos, and piece of hard candy.

The right side pocket contained my medical pack. There was a large bandage roll, a pot of warmweed healing salve, a needle and thread, and a tiny jar of a dark, sticky substance. Will pointed to it. "What's that?" he asked. I paled. No one ever asked me that. "Um....." I sighed. "It's poison."

"Poison?! That's terrible!" Will exclaimed in astonishment. "Listen, you may not understand, but I haven't lived an easy life. Most of my life has been spent in danger. I need this.

"Besides, I doesn't kill anyone," I said angrily. "But..." Will said. "I never showed you this, did I?" I said, and pulled out my blowgun and dart pouch from my bottom right vest pocket. "Oh. I'm sorry..." Will apologized. "It's okay," I said quietly. My anger fizzled down.

The bottom left pocket of my vest had my money bag in it. I didn't have much money, but I took odd jobs everywhere I went, so I scraped by.

Phew. Second chapter down! I think this story's gonna have about 7 or 8 chapters, so keep on the lookout for updates!
-Audrey❤️❤️❤️❤️